At the height of World War I, British diplomat Mark Sykes stood with the prime minister, poring over a map of the Middle East. The two men had before them what they mistook as a simple task: to divide the former Ottoman Empire for the best interest of their own empire. Sykes pointed to the … Continue reading We cannot afford the hubris of another ‘Deal of the Century’
Month: January 2020
Remembering is not enough
Monday was Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking the 75th anniversary of the Soviet liberation of the Nazi death camps at Auschwitz. As is usually the case, today has been marked by a flurry of social media memes, articles and public statements by politicians and religious leaders, all urging us to remember the victims of the Holocaust, … Continue reading Remembering is not enough
Love, forgiveness overcome the flames of war
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Sometimes, an image simply defies words. That is the case with the photograph of 9-year-old Phan Thi Kim Phuc, fleeing among other terrified children, the clothes and much of her skin burned off her body, in a napalm strike in Trảng Bàng, Vietnam, in 1972. The … Continue reading Love, forgiveness overcome the flames of war
The golden parachutes of American injustice
“As one digs deeper into the national character of the Americans, one sees that they have sought the value of everything in this world only in the answer to this single question: how much money will it bring in?” That observation from Alexis de Tocqueville was confirmed in the recent “ousting” of Boeing CEO Dennis … Continue reading The golden parachutes of American injustice
Answer the call, and be present, in love
Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is … Continue reading Answer the call, and be present, in love
We cannot bear the cost of our war culture
There is nothing new under the sun, especially when it comes to our tendency toward war. Reckless and belligerent as our president is, it would be wrong to think our bellicose nature was invented in 2016. Operation Desert Storm, under Bush 41, was, to his credit, a model of broad coalition-building and narrowly defined … Continue reading We cannot bear the cost of our war culture
The Holy Name that Saves
This sermon was delivered for the Feast of the Holy Name, Jan. 1, 2020, at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Enid, Oklahoma. Today we remember the Feast of The Holy Name, known in other traditions as the Feast of the Circumcision. This feast day recalls the bris for Jesus – the traditional Jewish ceremony in which … Continue reading The Holy Name that Saves
James R. Neal 